


Connection Between Us

by Shirahane_Himeko



Series: KakaNaru AU mixed with Uzumaki Clan [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fox Summons, Fuuinjutsu, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Hatake Kakashi, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smart Uzumaki Naruto, Wolf Instincts, Wolf summons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25951570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shirahane_Himeko/pseuds/Shirahane_Himeko
Summary: In a world where soulmates are connected by a soulscape, a place where two souls met and took a shape of animal unique to themselves as well as create a pre-mating bond between two souls;  Naruto keep dreaming about a silver wolf with a scar on its left eye since he was a small child and sometimes, he would dream of two foxes, one with blood-red fur and one with pure white fur, both injured and huddled up together. He knew who the wolf was and its connection to him but he didn't know who the two foxes were supposed to be. He asked about it to those who can give him answers but all he got always the same answers. Until one day...
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Original Female Character(s), Uzumaki Naruto & Original Character(s)
Series: KakaNaru AU mixed with Uzumaki Clan [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862188
Comments: 18
Kudos: 118





	1. Soulscape

**Author's Note:**

> This is not canon compliant. In fact this is an AU where some events might change. And this is not rated underage because no steamy sessions will happen to those who are underage. There will be some violence in battle, though.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all I own is my OCs and plot.
> 
> All hail KakaNaru!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto spends his childhood full of questions which no one can answer to any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Naruto will be a bit OCC in this story as he mostly creates a mask to cover up what he can do. And Kakashi cares more than he shows. I think that warning is fair enough.

Soulscape, a place that can be accessed when sleeping or meditation where soulmates can connect with each other's soul to meet as an animal representing the soul and to create a pre-mating bond so when they met each other, it'll be easier for them to accept the soulmate bond. Most shinobi cherished their connection with their soulmate especially if their other half is from the enemy village because the pre-mating bond is all they can have. Some didn't find their soulmates until much later and some find them earlier than most people.

Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's current jinchūriki to Kyuubi no Kitsune, is one of those people who discover about his soulmate early. His soulscape, which is portrayed as a snowy clearing in the middle of a forest with a pond on the middle of it, started to appear in his dreams when he starts to live alone in an apartment complex that reluctantly allowed him to be one of its tenants and he was only a four years old child when it appears. Every time he went there, he met this beautiful and majestic silver wolf who eagerly greets him and always cuddles him until the end of his dream. He enjoyed the wolf's company immensely as it helps alleviate his loneliness.

Naruto had asked the Third Hokage about the soulscape and the old Hokage explained it to the boy at the best of his ability. Naruto was extremely pleased that his wolf actually his soulmate, the one that exclusively his. The whiskered boy grinned at the Hokage when he tried to pry who the boy's soulmate is. Naruto didn't want anyone to know who his soulmate is, even if it's only the representative of their soul. He'd hold the information about his soulmate in the deepest part of his heart until he met them.

When Naruto reached the age of seven years old, something happened to his soulscape. He went through his day same as always; no one pays him any attention in the Ninja Academy and he didn't know why but he was too tired to do some pranks for people to acknowledged him that day. So, he went straight home and after placing some seals meant to repel unwanted outsiders he studied from a scroll that somehow appears in his apartment one day, Naruto falls asleep, hoping to spend more time with his wolf.

What he sees shook him to the core. Instead of a silver wolf waiting for him, Naruto sees two foxes, snuggled up with each other and seemingly drenched in blood. Naruto was frightened by the sight of it and when he tried to move to see if the two foxes are still alive or not, the pond's water captured him and dragged him into it. Fear gripped Naruto and he flailed around the water, trying to swim to the surface when he suddenly can breathe without difficulty.

Naruto heard a concerned whine and he opened his eyes, his blue eyes locking to one concerned charcoal grey eye of his wolf. Unconsciously holding his breath, Naruto released it with a shudder, unaware of tears streaming down his cheeks. Sitting down, he hugged the wolf who waste no time to comfort the boy.

The two spend their time snuggling to each other. Naruto didn't let go of his wolf for too long and his wolf, his majestic loyal wolf, stays by his side, offering silent comfort to its soulmate.

* * *

Kakashi was eighteen years old when he first enters his soulscape. He didn't know what to think of it, he spent most of his life thinking he didn't have a soulmate; he thinks himself as undeserving to have a soulmate, they will suffer with him as their significant other. He felt even more undeserving when he sees the animal form of his soulmate.

In the middle of the snowy clearing, a small fox with golden fur and clear blue eyes curiously watching him. Kakashi knew the colour of that fur and eyes. _No, it can't be! Why?!_ Kakashi desperately want it all to be a dream, just his brain making things! He didn't dare to move when the small fox approached him, still hoping it's just a dream. His hope is shredded when the fox jumped at him, latched on his left shoulder and nuzzled Kakashi's neck. It takes a day or two and constant purring and nuzzles from the fox for Kakashi to finally admit defeat.

"What am I going to do with you?"

~~~

Despite the frigid weather of his soulscape, Kakashi didn't even feel cold as the small fox in his arms is radiating heat, effectively warming him. Kakashi knows the manifestation of a soulscape's doesn't include temperatures but the feeling of snow underneath his body made it difficult to stop himself from shivering. Luckily, he got a small fox who likes to cuddle and he wants to be warm; a win-win situation for them both.

"We need to build a shelter sooner or later," Kakashi muttered, eyeing the snowy soulscape. He had been researching about soulscape and finds two scrolls about it on his clan's inventory. He found out that altering the soulscape means physically bonding with his soulmate and he's on a strict order not to be seen or interact with the child. Not to mention his soulmate is fourteen years younger than him and his late sensei's son.

The Third Hokage had strictly forbidden Kakashi and Jiraiya from interacting with Naruto due to fear others will connect the dots if they were to get close with the child without any excuse logical enough that it won't raise any suspicion. Kakashi got lucky because he can guard Naruto due to him being an ANBU from time to time. Technically, if his sensei and his wife were alive, both of them would raise Kakashi and Naruto as brothers. With that in mind, Kakashi makes sure to leave something small for Naruto every time he sees the child.

~~~

Naruto was six years old when Kakashi saved him from the burning apartment building. Some angry and drunk men had decided it was right to kill an innocent six years old child and set the building on fire. He knows the civilians and some shinobi sees Naruto as the fox but he didn't know they would try to kill the child when said child has protection from the Hokage. It was also the first time Kakashi saw them abused Naruto.

Inside his soulscape, the fox looks lively enough but Kakashi's nose still catches the smell of burning wounds. In the real world, Naruto's wounds had healed but smelling the scent on his soul reminds Kakashi of how light and tiny the child was. It was enough reason for Kakashi to initiate the hug.

"I'll always be here, Naruto. If you need me, I'm here."

~~~

The burning apartment incident spurs Kakashi to find something that will help Naruto safe. He visits the library to find seals that will help Naruto but none of the sealing scrolls inside the library was helpful. Strangely enough, Kakashi found three sealing scrolls with Uzumaki clan's crest on it inside his clan's inventory. Inside the scrolls are the seals he had been searching for and without even wondering how the scrolls ended up in Hatake clan's inventory, Kakashi grabbed them and discreetly put it under Naruto's bed, hoping the now academy student will easily find it and study them.

He was pleased to see Naruto diligently studied the scrolls as if the contents fascinated him whenever he is on "Guard the Jinchūriki" duty. He wished he can help more but the order from the Sandaime keeps ringing inside his head.

The Third Hokage had given Kakashi an ultimatum, that he will be denied of his right to be Naruto's jōnin instructor when said child become a genin. The late Fourth Hokage had registered his will that if something happens to him and his wife, Kakashi will be Naruto's guardian and later his jōnin instructor. Due to the untimely death of both the Fourth Hokage and his wife, Kakashi can't be Naruto's guardian because he's too young and too valuable for Konoha to retire to take care of a child. As his right as guardian was denied by the councils and elders as well as the Hokage, Kakashi can only hope they won't deny his right to be Naruto's jōnin instructor.

The ultimatum kept Kakashi from helping Naruto more. The scrolls were pushing the line and he feared that Hokage would realise who give it to Naruto, but to his surprise and relief, Naruto did not tell the Hokage anything about it.

_Thank god for small mercies._

* * *

Naruto always felt something weird happened to him ever since the incident when he was six years old. Before the incident, he can't sense people's intention around him but now, he can sense what people are trying to do something bad towards him, he can even smell things!

Because of his newfound sensitive senses, Naruto noticed something constant happening around him. The scrolls he found under his bed has distinct scents that calmed him; a mix scents of dogs and something Naruto can't put name of. There are even some small things around Naruto's new apartment that has the same scent. He found out he likes the scent and the owner of that scent often nearby him at night. And he thinks that person must be his soulmate.

Naruto decided to not tell anyone about this. He didn't know why his soulmate won't approach him directly but that person must have their own reason for that. And telling the Hokage about it might stopping what Naruto came to look forward after years of being ignored.

When Naruto was nine, his soulmate stopped being nearby at night and it was the worst thing Naruto ever felt. The small gifts become rare and Naruto almost despaired that the scent gradually disappearing from the things. It didn't help his mental health that the scene where he sees the foxes drenched in blood increased as he becomes older. Sometimes, he would be back to his soulscape as soon as he saw the foxes and he would cling to his majestic wolf until he's awake. But lately, he would stand there and watch the foxes for hours before entering his soulscape; sometimes he would just awake without seeing his wolf.

For Naruto, not cuddling with his wolf was a painful experience and despite not wanting to see the foxes, Naruto has this urge to approach, touch and cuddle with them. Confused, Naruto went to ask the Hokage who has no answer for him, in fact, the old man told him that it was just a dream. He offered Naruto to have a Yamanaka to see inside his mind in order to find out what is happening. He outright refused the offer because he felt strangely protective of the foxes. From that point on, Naruto didn't tell the Hokage about the foxes anymore.

~~~

Years went by and the foxes keep on appearing but Naruto had resigned himself and accept the existence of the foxes after he tried to ask several people about it and received the same answer every time; "If you already entered a soulscape and meet an animal there, then it's your soulmate, Naruto," the academy instructor, Umino Iruka-sensei had said to Naruto when he asked the older man. 

_I already know the shape of my soulmate's animal form and it's certainly not a fox!_ Naruto thought furiously as he practised making seals in his apartment. The graduation exam day is coming and he knew he had to practice other jutsus if he wanted to graduate and become a genin, but he's just bad with henge and bunshin no jutsu! 

The sealing scrolls has some instructions on how to channel the exact amount of chakra into the seals as well as few methods to control a vast amount of chakra reserves. He had done all of the methods and is quite confident about his chakra control but all that is not enough for him to perfectly execute a henge or a bunshin. 

_Is it even normal to have this much of chakra in one person?_ Naruto thought as he put the scrolls into its hiding place which is also filled with trinkets he got from his mysterious soulmate. He hides them because the Hokage visits his apartment from time to time without any announcements. He doesn't want to give his soulmate any trouble with the old man.

~~~

He failed the exam.

 _I spend so much time in meditation this morning to make sure my chakra control would be perfect so I can do bunshin no jutsu and yet I can't! It's not fair!_ Naruto wanted so much to pull his hair to show his desperation and anger at the unfairness of life but he settled by sitting on a swing and watched his peers proudly shows their forehead protector to their parents. He was so absorbed in watching that he didn't catch the footsteps and scent of someone walking towards him.

"Do you want to graduate that badly, Naruto? If so, there is this special exam and you can graduate if you succeed."

Startled, Naruto turned his head and found out the other academy instructor, Mizuki-sensei is standing beside him. _He's offering a special exam? I thought he hated me?_ "What do you mean by special exam, Mizuki-sensei?"

"Well, you see..."

~~~

Naruto can't believe it. Not only he was tricked by Mizuki-sensei to steal a forbidden scroll, deceiving the Hokage with his new henge jutsu, almost getting Iruka-sensei killed and becoming a genin, he also discovered that he is the host of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the beast who almost destroy Konoha twelve years ago! So that's why the villagers and some of the shinobi hated him. 

Naruto was on house arrest for stealing the forbidden scroll and guarded heavily by ANBU so those shinobi who wanted to kill him will not get to him. He recognised the ANBU as the ones who have been watching over him since childhood and he would sometimes wave at them if they happen to be passing his window. The bright side of the house arrest is that he doesn't have to pay for the food because the Hokage makes sure he is well fed during his punishment. And it lasted until the day of the team assignment.

He was just getting ready for the team assignment when someone knocks on his window. Turning around, Naruto saw an ANBU who nodded at him before they disappear. _Seems like I'm summoned to Hokage's Tower_ , he thought as he wears his forehead protector and rushed to the tower. He wants to be in the academy first so he can surprise his peers!

"Ah, Naruto. Come in, boy and take a seat."

Naruto noticed several things at once when he stepped into the Hokage office. One, there's no ANBU guards around. Two, there's a jutsu surrounding the office and three, the old man Hokage looks weary.

~~~

The Hokage told Naruto what happened on the day of his birth. He told him how the Fourth has no other way to keep the Kyuubi from destroying Konoha besides sealing the beast inside him. Naruto listened with as much attention he can give to the old man while his mind is processing the information. He cried a bit when the Hokage told him that the Fourth wanted Naruto to be viewed as a hero by containing the Kyuubi inside him because apparently, not everyone can contain it the way Naruto can.

 _There goes my question about why I was chosen_ , Naruto thought as he bites his lower lip, he was so absorbed in his thought that he almost missed what the Hokage told him next. "Naruto, do you know the meaning of that swirl on your back?"

The old Hokage didn't let Naruto answer as he opened one of his desk drawers and pull out something. Naruto watches the old man stare at what looks like a piece of paper before it was handed over to him.

It's an old photograph and the first thing Naruto noticed is a Konoha symbol pinned to a wall with several Konoha ninja on the background along with a younger Third Hokage. And the next thing he noticed is a swirl symbol pinned the same way as the other one. It was then Naruto noticed several people have the same swirl on their person.

He stares at the photograph for a few moments before he looks up at the Hokage. It wasn't hard to connect the dot. If a lot of people have the same emblem on their person, then it only means one thing: a clan.

"That photograph was taken before the beginning of the Second Shinobi World War. Uzushio village's Uzumaki clan came to Konoha for updating the seal knowledge of our village. Konoha and Uzushio have been the closest allies to each other due to their distant relation to the Senju clan.

Uzumaki clan was a powerful clan, specialised in seals and their unique physical condition. Naruto, you are a descendant of this powerful clan, that's why you are allowed to use that emblem on your back."

The whole time the Hokage is talking about Uzumaki clan, all Naruto thinks about is _If I'm a part of such a powerful clan, then, why am I an orphan?_ He can't help but feel a bit resentful toward his clan and apparently it shows on his face because the Hokage told him the reason why he's an orphan despite being part of a clan.

"Naruto, at the end of the Second Shinobi World War, some hidden villages and nations band together to destroy Uzu no Kuni. They invade the land and successfully destroyed it. Those who survived are scattered around the world but it is safe to say that Uzumaki clan ceased to exist on the aftermath of the invasion. Your mother was the sole survivor of the Uzumaki clan's main family because she's already at Konoha at the time. She died on the day of your birth and you are now the sole survivor of Uzumaki main family. And normally, that would put you into the CRA system."

Naruto's eyes widen at the word 'system', he felt dread of what he might discover soon. "CRA system? What's that?"

"Clan Restoration Act."

~~~

It was hard to pretend to be happy when he was assigned to the same team as the prettiest girl (in his opinion) in the classroom after what he learnt from the Hokage an hour ago. His fellow genin's reaction of seeing him with a forehead protector was hilarious enough for Naruto to forget the knowledge he gained from inside Hokage's office. Enough for him to feel mischievous and prank his jōnin sensei, just because said sensei is late!

"Naruto! What are you doing!? Sensei is going to be mad at us!" His pink-haired teammate shrieks at him, horrified and annoyed at what he's doing.

"Come on, Sakura-chan! They are late!" He retorted back. They have been waiting for their sensei for three hours now and he's hungry, damn it!

Satisfied with his prank, Naruto returns back to his seat and wait for their sensei to arrive with excitement. There is no way a jōnin sensei would fall to his prank. Sakura-chan's _shrieks started to hurt my ears, though._ It took a lot of him not to rub his ears, his enhanced senses made it worse.

~~~

Naruto went through his day in a daze, they were weeding someone's garden and after a week of D rank missions, it becomes a routine for him. He had been disappointed that his jōnin sensei would fall into his prank, frustrated and angry at him during the bell test; the silver-haired man used such a painful jutsu on his backside! Of course he'd be angry! Until his sensei ruffled his hair after another D rank mission cleared, when Naruto's nose caught a nostalgic scent that has his heart skipped a beat.

It has been several years since he last smelled it but those years of longing and pain paled in comparison to his discovery, of his joy. Blue eyes stare at the silver-haired man, taking in the older man's features. He should have realised upon seeing that silver hair and scarred left eye; it's the same shade as his wolf and the same eye that was injured! But because Naruto saw his sensei avoid touching him or even talking to him, he didn't think much of his jōnin sensei or even consider him as his soulmate. Until he caught that scent of dogs and lightning --he knows now what the other scent is.

He's not going to let his soulmate got away with it. _Kakashi-sensei better be prepared, because if he won't pursue me, I'll pursue him!_ Naruto decided, he always wanted to be physically together with his soulmate and it won't stop him! Besides, the age gap didn't matter because they are shinobi. He will make his sensei acknowledge him as a shinobi and as a soulmate!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcannon about this story is somewhat following the canon regarding Uzu no Kuni and Uzumaki clan's destruction. Kushina came to Konoha one year before Uzushio's destruction and the elimination of her clan, effectively making her the last member of Uzumaki clan's main family. There are some people who aren't dead like in the canon. And because this is a soulmate AU, prepared to see some 'absurb' fact I'd create for the sake of this story. 
> 
> For anyone who are waiting for the next chapter of "Vortex of Change", please be patient. The chapter is halfway done, and hopefully will be done in a few days.
> 
> Please excuse my mistakes in the story. English is not my main language.
> 
> Thank your for reading this story, comments are always appreciated, stay safe and stay healthy!


	2. Frozen in Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Seven's first C rank mission turn out to be a mess. Naruto got a surprise when he's at Wave Country; a surprise from the Second Shinobi World War. None of the Team Seven is prepared for the surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are thoughts.  
> "Bold" is sinister voice, serious voice, screams, beast talking, etc.  
> "He's mine!" is normal dialogue.
> 
> Disclaimer! I do not own Naruto; it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. What I owns are my OCs and plot.

"That cat is not an animal, it's a demon in disguise," Naruto grumbled under his breath, glaring at the cat, no, a demon named Tora they just captured for their D rank mission. Apparently, it belong to the their Daimyo's wife. How it escaped from it's mistress, Naruto has no idea. But one thing for sure, it's a pain in the arse to capture. He and his team got scratches from the demon while their sensei just watch them struggle from his perch on a tree branch and reading that porn of his.

As Team Seven made their way to the Hokage Tower, Naruto can't help but grimace at the sight of the red tower. Memories from his meeting with the village elders surfaced as they entered the tower.

*Flashback*

Naruto was just digging through his drawer for clothes when someone knock on his window. The sudden change of tranquility made him jumpy and when he turned around to shout angrily at whoever it is outside his window, Naruto stopped at the sight of Cat ANBU who disappear as soon as he sees her. Ever since the Hokage revealed his heritage–well, part of his heritage but at least it was something, Naruto has this dread settling inside him whenever he was summoned to the Hokage office.

 _Better get this done with_ , Naruto thought as he put on some clothes; it's the same orange jumpsuit he always wore when he had missions. Sure, he like the orange colour but the reason why he wore the jumpsuit is because it's the only set of clothing he can afford to buy, even with the steady income from the missions and the village’s support. He knows it made him an easy target but if the Hokage can't even do something about it; what can he, the village pariah, do about it?

“They made it too obvious when they sell this clothes to me,” Naruto grumbled under his breath as he run towards the Tower. As soon as his blue eyes spotted the building, Naruto felt a heavier dread than before. His instinct is screaming at him; _be careful, someone nasty is waiting for you there!_ it says. He didn't know why he felt that but he knows he won't like what he will face today inside the Hokage’s office.

~~~

His instinct was right. As soon as Naruto stepped into the Hokage's office, his senses immediately zeroed on an older man who has bandaged hands and one left eye covered. _Dangerdangerdangerdanger_ , his instinct screamed at him. Something inside him also says not to trust the other two elders who are standing side by side with the man Naruto has put into his ‘don't let them get close' list. The Hokage looks at him with a subtle concerned gaze, as if he knows Naruto is very uncomfortable being there with the three elders.

“So, the jinchūriki knows which clan he comes from?” The bandaged man was facing the Hokage but his eyes never leaves Naruto who tried so hard not to fidget.

 _Damn it, old man! Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of tool you can use!_ Naruto really wanted to glare at the old man but he didn't want to look at the elders unless it's truly necessary. The Hokage had him remember the names of village's elders and he had seen elder Koharu and elder Homura. He can only guess who the other elder is.

“Yes, Danzo. I told him about it; he had the right to know about his clan, even if the clan itself is extinct.”

“Then, he should be put inside the CRA system. Uzumaki clan was a prominent clan in Uzu no Kuni and now that the surviving member is a Konoha shinobi, it’s only right if the clan is revived.”

Naruto can't believe his ears, the elders have to be joking about this! He knows what exactly the system entails; the old man Hokage had explain it to him the day of team assignment and he doesn’t want to be part of that system! He's not some kind of baby-making machine!

Naruto wanted to protest to the elders but a sharp look from the old man stopped him. Begrudgingly, Naruto let the Hokage deal with the elders. _It's not fair, it's my life and my future they are talking about!_ He wants to scream at them but the crippled old man named Danzo seems to anticipating an outrage coming from him, if the way he keep looking at Naruto is any indication. He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to give the crippled old man the satisfaction of seeing him explode.

In the end, the Hokage can only convince the elders to keep the system away from Naruto until he's eighteen years old. The three elders seems satisfied by it and they left without fuss when the old man dismissed them.

Naruto waited until he can no longer sense them nearby before he pouted at the Hokage. “Jiji, I told you I have a soulmate. I don't want to be in that system! Besides, I don't know if my soulmate would like it if I was part of the system.”

“Naruto, the system won't be able to touch you if you mated with your soulmate. That’s what I'm aiming for when I decided to keep the system from you until you reached legal age. Now, will you tell me who they are? At least tell me their soul's animal form.”

Naruto knows there's only so much the Hokage can do for him. And the old man has done a lot in his life. But telling him about his soulmate is a big no for Naruto. He still make sure to sounds apologetic to the older man, though. “Nope, I still don't know who they are, Jiji. And I’d like to keep their soul's form a secret because they are exclusively mine. Maybe I'll let you know about it when we are mated, Jiji. Now, I gotta get going, there’s a team meeting I need to attend!” _Because that way, you won’t be able to separate us even using force or your power as Hokage_ , Naruto solemnly thought as he bid farewell to the old man, he had to hurry for the team meeting.

*End of flashback*

Naruto shakes his head, trying to get rid of the flashback. _I still have six years to woo Kakashi-sensei, I won’t let them make me into a baby-making machine!_ Nodding to himself, Naruto watches his teammates from behind them. _Sakura-chan's clinging to the Teme again, I still don’t get why girls likes him._ Naruto absentmindedly thought as he walks side by side with his sensei who got the cat carrier on one hand and his porn on the other hand.

Naruto shifted his eyes to his sensei and his –most likely– soulmate. He didn’t know how to approach the older man. Besides doing missions and team meetings, they barely seen each other. There was one time when Team Seven had a week off because their sensei had a mission and when the silver-haired jōnin returned, Naruto gave his sensei a plant he named “Ukki-kun” as a gift because Naruto thought his sensei is awesome and need to have an awesome plant inside his house, too.

The jōnin's reaction about the gift made Naruto happy, enough for him not to overly demand attention from the silver-haired jōnin for some time. Until Naruto seen Kakashi teaches Uchiha Sasuke, his gloomy teammate, something in secret.

It hurts, seeing his –most likely– soulmate spend more time with someone that is not him. But because Naruto swore to himself he will make his sensei acknowledge him as a shinobi and as a worthy soulmate, he take advantage of the pain and studied the last sealing scroll diligently. He almost finished the scroll by now; he learnt a lot of offensive kekkai-jutsus and some scary fuuinjutsus from that scroll and he's confident enough with his fuuinjutsu arsenal. He also managed to modified a storage seal for himself.

Overall, Naruto is confident in his fuuinjutsu and kekkai-jutsu. He knows he is one step closer to make his sensei acknowledge him. Now, he just had to improve himself more.

* * *

Kakashi, now within the comfort of his home, let out a big sigh. He had noticed Naruto staring at him whenever the boy thinks he’s not looking. Even during the briefing of Team Seven's first C rank mission, he can feel Naruto's eyes on him. Kakashi didn’t know why Naruto was staring at him but he is worried for his young soulmate.

Over the years he had resigned from the ANBU, Kakashi noticed that there are some days where Naruto won’t appear inside the soulscape. At first, he didn’t think much of it, thinking that maybe Naruto was too engrossed in his seal studies that he forgot about the time. But when the number of days increased as Naruto grow older, Kakashi begin to worry, especially when he gained intel from his former subordinates in ANBU that Naruto was sleeping on those days.

When he was told by the Hokage that he will be the jōnin sensei of Team Seven, Kakashi felt something inside him sagged with relief. But it all went to the drain when he was called in by the village’s elders right after he finished his visits to his soon to be genin team's houses. They want him to focus only on the last Uchiha; Naruto’s presence on the team was not welcome but as long as Kakashi, the team leader focused on the Uchiha, they will not touch the blond jinchūriki.

Despite being furious at the elders, Kakashi had no choice but to obey; he's not going to let them take away Naruto from him. The elders and the Third Hokage knows the late Fourth's will and the least they can do to honour the fallen Hokage is to do what his will dictate. Now he knows that the elders were not going to honour his sensei's will.

Kakashi is not the type to curse his superior but they didn’t give him reasons why he shouldn’t curse them to hell. Although, he should get rid of the thought now and focus on getting ready for the mission. This will be his team's first mission outside the village and he want to be prepared for anything that will come their way.

His client’s and team’s safety is his priority. He will not lose them this early, not while he's still breathing.

~~~

Kakashi wanted to curse out loud. His client, Tazuna, apparently hide something from them, something crucial to his team's survival. To their survival.

They were ambushed by two missing nin from Kirigakure who he recognises to be a pair of assassins working under one Momochi Zabusa, the Demon of Kiri. His team fight well for a bunch of fresh genins but what surprised Kakashi the most is Naruto’s usage of trap seals. He was sure that his blond student was not prepared for the ambush and yet Naruto had laid out several trap seals around them, without Kakashi knowing when and how.

 _I'll ask about him later about it_ , Kakashi thought, already forgotten about the time when he had given little Naruto three sealing scrolls from his clan’s inventory. He keep watching as his team knocked down the enemies before he jumped down from his hiding place. He told Sasuke and Naruto to tie the chūnin to one of the many trees along the main road.

Satisfied to see Naruto and Sasuke work as a team, albeit with insults thrown at each other, Kakashi turned to Tazuna, who is shaking and pale. Their enemies had talk about taking down Tazuna and the reward they will get for the master bridge builder’s head. Kakashi didn’t know what feat could have warrant a bounty on the older man's head. There’s something fishy here.

“I think it’s time you tell us the truth, Tazuna-san. Why would a pair of missing nins from Kirigakure targeted you?” Releasing a bit of his killing intent, Kakashi glared at the older man who looks like he’s about to wet his pants.

The older man then proceed to launch his tale; about Gato, a man who made Wave Country miserable, about why he’s building a bridge that will connect Wave country to mainland as well as why he's lying about the mission. The older man took sharp intake of breaths when Kakashi’s killing intent increased a little bit.

“Tazuna-san, this is not a C-rank mission. This is enough to be considered as an A-rank mission and my team is not ready for such dangerous mission. I have the very intention for us to return back to Konoha but...let's hear what my team has to say.”

Kakashi and Tazuna turn their heads to look at the three genins who has been listening to the story. Sakura and Sasuke want to continue the mission while Naruto seems to be thinking about it.

“I...agree with Kakashi-sensei,” His young soulmate started, his blue eyes are watching his other two students who looks like they are about to protest but clearly, Naruto is not done. “We are not ready for A-rank mission. Hell, we’re not ready for any mission higher than C-rank! But,” Kakashi feel pride crawling up his spine as Naruto shut his teammates down with logical reason and when those blue eyes are trained on him with such intensity, something inside Kakashi twist and the urge to pull the genin close surfaced. He shoved aside that urge as he focused on Naruto.

“If we don’t try it now, we won’t know whether or not this will happen again. Not to mention, this might be a good opportunity to get rid a future threat to Konoha, don't you think so, sensei?”

Dumbfounded, Kakashi can only blink a few times at his blond student – soulmate – and his surprising thought of the village’s future. Knowing that he is outvoted, Kakashi agreed to continue the mission and summon one of his ninken to tell the Hokage about the change of plans.

He can only hope this dread he felt of will not happen.

~~~

What he dreaded of actually happens.

They where just walking toward Tazuna's house when Naruto suddenly creates a clone and tackled his teammates to the ground while said clone tackles both Kakashi and Tazuna. A giant sword flew passed where they stood seconds before and a man, with bandages over his lower face, appears in front of them.

Team Seven get back to their feet faster than they thought their body can move and jumped away from the man, Kakashi had to dragged their client with them, the man had frozen up after seeing the giant sword. “...You must be Hatake Kakashi, the Copycat Ninja of Konoha.” The man cocked his head at them, his eyes zeroed on Kakashi.

 _Did I jinx us?_ Kakashi lamented to the sky before standing in front of his team and client. The man before them is dangerous, and it seems he had to get serious. “And you must be Momochi Zabusa, the Demon of Kiri.”

Identifying the man was not that hard. His name was in Konoha’s bingo book, and because they were ambushed by the Demon Brothers, it wasn’t that hard to connect the dots.

From the corner of his peripheral vision, Kakashi saw Naruto subtly place something on the ground and it looks suspiciously like a piece of paper. _Wait, is that a seal based of kekkai-jutsu? How did he even–oh, that’s right, I gave him three sealing scrolls before. So, he’s confident enough about them. The question is, can it withstand the attack?_

“That’s my target behind you, Hatake. Get out of my way and I might spare your lives.”

“Well, not sorry to disappoint you, but I can’t do that. You see, he’s my client and I can’t let him die; not while the mission contract is in place.” Kakashi says as he pulls up his forehead protector from his left eye, revealing the red eye with swirling tomoes.

With his back in front of his genins, none of them can see his left eye and Kakashi wanted it to last. Without Sasuke knowing he has sharingan, the Uchiha won't be able to demand more of his time. But alas, it was not meant to be.

“So, that’s the infamous sharingan. I will have some fun killing you.”

“...I wonder about that.”

* * *

As soon as both ninjas' killing intent clashed, Naruto got chills running down his spine and he unintentionally activated his kekkai-jutsu. It went unnoticed by all of them, because the only indication of its activation is merely a sliver of light.

Naruto look over to his teammates, both of them are shivering in fright, their sensei's killing intent is paralyzing them both. “Sasuke, Sakura-chan. Focus, Kakashi-sensei won’t harm us.”

His Uchiha teammate scoffed at him, “And what makes you think so, dobe?”

 _This bastard..._ It took a lot to stop himself from moving from his spot, “Well, I don’t know about you, Teme, but I can read books and scrolls and Jiji told me that a jōnin sensei would never hurt their team. Kakashi-sensei is our mentor and we should trust him.” Letting out a bit of growl, Naruto ignored the surprised look from his teammates.

He knows it’s petty but he can’t help it! Sasuke got special attention form their sensei and yet he can’t trust the older man. Naruto can almost hear the beast inside him laugh and he can feel his fangs grows, so does his urge to enter the battlefield just to help his sensei. He knows he would be in the older man’s way but he can’t just stay in the sidelines!

Naruto felt his heart stopped when the enemy produced a thick mist to blind them all. He almost panicked when he can’t see his teammates and sensei but when his nose caught the scents he had catalogued as his teammates', he let himself relaxed a bit. At the same time, his ears caught the sound of steel clashes with each other and his nose also caught a foreign scent near his sensei’s.

A few minutes into the fight between two older ninjas made something inside Naruto tightens with worry. His eyes might be useless at the moment but his ears and nose are more than useful.

He had never thought he’d be happy to have the demon fox inside him.

~~~

Naruto’s blood boils at the sight of his sensei trapped inside a water prison. Their enemy had thrown his giant sword at their client behind Naruto right after he did something to distract Kakashi enough for him to start making his way to the old man. But the missing nin did not expect a kekkai around Tazuna and his surprised expression made Naruto smirks a bit.

He didn’t know if his sensei notice it, but something tells him that there is someone else in the forest. He want to tell the silver-haired jōnin but they have to free said jōnin from his watery prison first and the thought of fighting the missing nin is making him sweat.

_We are fresh-from-academy genins; let alone facing a missing nin, this is our first mission outside the village! Blindly attacking that man would results in one thing: our deaths. And I refuse to die here!_

All the thinking is making his head hurts and thankfully, he didn’t have to think anymore as his gloomy teammate seems to have an idea.

~~~

Their plan worked and they managed to free their sensei but even though Naruto wanted to hug the silver-haired man, the enemy is still there and Naruto doubt their sensei can stand another fight with the man, at least not now. With that train of thought, Naruto subtly reach toward his left leg’s shuriken holster that he use as his paper seal's holder.

Before he can even take one out, suddenly, their enemy’s neck is pierced by a senbon and someone wearing a mask appeared. Naruto was relieved for a second before he instinctively keep his guard up and in the back of his mind, he knows the newcomer was their enemy’s friend.

Naruto’s tense posture went unnoticed as everyone else is focused on the newcomer who claim themselves as a hunter-nin from Kiri and thanks them for weakening one of their missing nin. Naruto didn’t let down his guard until the supposedly hunter-nin disappeared with the body and he barely caught his sensei’s collapse form.

In his almost panic state, Naruto barely catch Tazuna telling them that his house is close and they will be able to rest there and safe. With the idea of a safe resting place, the team continued on with Sasuke helping Naruto dragging their unconscious sensei.

Naruto has a lot of questions to his sensei but all that can wait until the man is awake and well enough to answer all those questions. The silver-haired jōnin currently become the example of what Naruto read in one of the scrolls about chakra exhaustion and thankfully, the scrolls actually covers a lot about chakra. Naruto knows, theoretically, how to give someone his chakra but he had to be alone with his sensei because the scrolls told him that giving someone else chakra took a lot of concentration and he doesn’t have the patience for questions when he will have excuse to be close with his sensei.

But, man, his sensei is heavy!

~~~

Naruto inwardly protest that they all have to stay in one room but didn’t try to voice it out. He has one important thing to do and no one will stop him! And as soon as his teammates are downstairs, Naruto create a clone and sent him downstairs before kneeling beside his sensei.

With trembling hands, Naruto gently grabbed the man's hand and start to concentrate, trying to channel his chakra into the man's chakra coils. In his mind, Naruto only grabbed a handful of chakra and transfer it to the jōnin. It was successful, albeit taking almost half an hour to do so.

Naruto wiped his sweat off his face, he didn’t knew chakra transfer was so hard to do and frankly, he didn’t know how he succeeded. But he took it as a victory and right on time, too. He felt his clone went upstairs and he dispelled it once the clone is inside the room and told him that dinner will ready soon.

The dinner went quietly and once Naruto put a kekkai-jutsu surrounding the house, he went to sleep and he had hold back a groan when he saw Sakura took a spot beside Kakashi’s sleeping form. Surrendering himself to a night of being close yet so far away from his soulmate –he already convinced that Kakashi is his soulmate, he had to be!– and went to sleep at the only vacant sleeping bag.

Sleeping in a foreign territory and his sensei in such a situation made Naruto unable to get some decent sleep. Not that he needed it, having so much chakra and stamina means he can sleep for a few hours yet still be able to be as energised as someone who sleep for twelve hours. After a few hours of restless sleep, Naruto decided to meditate and enter his soulscape.

When he get there, he was glad that his wolf is there, albeit sleeping soundly. In his happiness, Naruto pounced the sleeping canine who just reacted with a slight whine and keep on sleeping. As the blond jinchūriki snuggle up to the fluffy fur of his wolf, his eyes caught a red spot within his peripheral vision.

Sitting up, Naruto tried to focus on the red spot before his blue eyes widened. The blood soaked foxes are with them.

“This never happened before...” He trailed as he unconsciously gripped the silver fur beneath his hands tightly, unsure and simply didn’t know what to do.

The foxes didn’t even noticed his presence, they just snuggled up with each other and it made Naruto even more unsure. Slowly but surely, Naruto lowers himself to snuggle his wolf while still keeping an eye on the foxes.

A few moments passed by and without nothing exciting or weird happening, Naruto begin to relax and as he melt into the warmth of his wolf, Naruto saw one of the foxes opens its eyes and speaks to him.

“Come and seek us.”

~~~

Naruto went through his tree walking training in a distracted state. Ever since he heard one of the fox speaks to him, he can’t seem to ignore his instinct. It keep on screaming at him to go to a clearing deep within the forest behind Tazuna’s house. After two dozens of destroyed trees, Naruto finally give in to his instinct and went to investigate what made the primal part of him so anxious.

What he found in the clearing was nothing extraordinary, at first glance. It was like any clearing in the middle of a forest but after spending a few minutes soaking in the feeling of nature around him, Naruto noticed something weird. The clearing is filled with blooming flowers and the trees seems to be blooming with flowers, too.

Normally, that wouldn’t invoke any suspicion but Naruto noticed all the blooming flowers are spring flowers that should not bloomed under the cruel Summer sun. Naruto also noticed that the clearing is saturated with chakra, as if someone had poured a lot of chakra into the land and made the impossible happen.

It was also then Naruto noticed something he had missed before. Just a way off of the clearing’s centre, stood a big boulder covered in moss and crawling plants. Once again, it doesn’t seems suspicious. But something told him that there are people inside the boulder. Strangely enough, his instinct didn’t file their presence as enemy; Naruto, however, doesn’t think it’s wise for him to approach the boulder alone and run back toward the house to get his sensei.

“Kakashi-sensei!”

Said man looked up from his book when Naruto stopped beside him and immediately tugged the older man towards the direction of the clearing. “Maa, Naruto, why don’t you settle down and tell me, what’s wrong? Didn’t you still have to walk up the tree?”

“But, but! This is more important than that, Kakashi-sensei! I can’t concentrate if my instinct is screaming at me to investigate this boulder in the clearing!”

The older man frowned at him and his sensei actually put his porn away and look at him properly. “You already gone to investigate it, right, Naruto?”

“Yeah... I can’t help it. It’s so loud and distracted me from the training and I already destroyed a lot of trees. Sensei, is it possible for someone to pour their chakra into the land?”

Naruto stare at the silver-haired man who look at him as if he sprouted another head. “That’s impossible, Naruto. Such a thing is basically a suicide.” _Yeah, thought so_. Even someone like him won’t be able to achieve such a feat. But...

“The clearing was full of Spring flowers in full bloom, sensei. And, somehow, the clearing seems saturated with chakra for a very long time.”

“How do you know that?”

“Umm, I can sense it?” Naruto didn’t know why he can sense it. He just can, since he was younger, in fact.

His sensei stare at him for a long time before the silver-haired jōnin stands up and close his eye, trying to sense what Naruto told him. After a few minutes, Naruto saw his sensei look at him with shock and something Naruto can’t decipher. “Naruto, get Sakura and Sasuke. We will investigate the clearing together, as a team. And leave a few clones with Tazuna and his family.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, sensei! I already placed a kekkai around the house!” He exclaimed as he went to get his teammates, unaware of Kakashi’s widened eye.

~~~

Convincing his teammates was a lot harder but as soon as Naruto says it was their sensei's order, the two of them complies. On their way to the clearing, Naruto finally noticed another peculiar thing. They were so far away from Konoha and yet, the trees made him feel as if they are at Konoha. It doesn’t made sense to him.

“Wow! So pretty!” Naruto’s pink haired teammate exclaimed. They just barely arrive at the clearing and it’s beauty already captivated the only female member of the team. Not that he blamed her, the clearing is indeed beautiful.

“Naruto was right,” three heads turn toward their sensei who studied a flower on his hand. The silver-haired man twirled the flower, seemingly trying to determine where the chakra came from. “...The chakra that made this flower blooms came from the clearing and yet the oddest thing here is this giant boulder. Not only it’s out of place, it looks like still in a good condition, not like any boulders out in the open for years as there is no sign of deterioration on this boulder, as if protected by chakra. Can you pinpoint where the source of chakra came from, Naruto?”

Surprised his sensei is asking his opinion, Naruto stare at the man for a moment before he nodded and close his eyes. He tried to do what he is asked for but his instinct urged him to get close to the boulder, _savethemsavethemsavethem_ , it chanted. _Who are they? Why did you lead us here?_ Naruto tried to ask but it didn’t answer. Instead it keep on chanting and Naruto can’t resist it.

With shaky steps, Naruto approach the boulder, ignoring the yells of his name. He opened his eyes as he stopped just a metre away from the boulder. His eyes caught something similar to a sealing paper on said boulder and his hand moved by its own accord and ripped the paper off.

As soon as the paper is ripped off, they are all assaulted by a wave of chakra field coming from the boulder that made them cover their faces using their hands. Naruto tried to leapt back to create a distance between himself and the boulder but before he can even move, the world tilted and all he can see is blood-red eyes staring down at him.

Naruto can feel the coldness of kunai pressed against his neck but all he can focused on is the forehead protector worn by the one who pinned him down. _A swirl, just like the one on my back..._

The owner of the blood-red eyes, a young woman with straight and long blood-red hair whom Naruto noted to be at least a few years older than himself, studied him with a low growl. Naruto also noted that she wore an outfit similar to Konoha's standard uniform and that she reek of blood and something foul. The low growl stopped when her blood-red eyes flicked to his own forehead protector. “...A Konoha shinobi?”

Snapped out of his own observations, Naruto nodded, “Y-yeah, I'm a Konoha shinobi.”

The young woman studied him for a few moments before she move her head upward to glance at his team while still pinning him down and she stays like that for a few moments before letting go of her hold on his jumpsuit's collar. Naruto didn’t know why but his instinct told him that the redhead will never hurt him despite she was just pressing a kunai to his neck not a minute ago.

“Sorry about that,” the young woman said as she offers Naruto a hand to help him. His blue eyes studied her blood-red eyes for a moment before accepting her help. “I’d never thought that Konoha was sending a genin team as a reinforcement for the war. I mean, that certainly contradict the wish of Hashirama-sama, isn’t it?”

Naruto can only stare at her with confused eyes. _War? What is she talking about? The last shinobi war ended fourteen years ago, right?_ Thankfully, his sensei saved him from answering the question. “What do you mean by contradict the wish of the First Hokage?”

Naruto can see a flash of recognition in the young woman’s eyes before she shrugged, “They didn’t teach it at Konoha’s ninja academy? I'm quite sure it’s part of the history why hidden villages were built. Before the hidden villages even exists, there are a lot of wars going on amongst many shinobi clans. One of the famous clan wars was between the Senju clan and Uchiha clan.”

Naruto saw his Uchiha teammate stiffen but he didn’t have time to react because the young woman continued with her tale. “These two clans have been warring against each other for some reasons and they are also part of a large number of shinobi clans that send their young ones to the battlefield. Too many talented children died in battlefield, in a war that would have eliminated both clans if not for the wish of those who wanted to stop the war, to stop the unending cycle of hate and anguish, to stop children from being sent to their death. Konoha, the first shinobi village to exist, was built from that wish that become the Will of Fire where the whole village is family.”

The Team Seven are all speechless when the redhead stopped her monologue. Naruto know he didn’t pay much attention to the class but what she had said was easier for him to absorb, far easier than Iruka-sensei had explained to him. His Uchiha teammate, however, scoffed at the redhead.

“...You seems to know a lot of Konoha’s history.” His sensei stated, his tone neutral but Naruto can detect a hint of suspiciousness. The young woman stare at the silver-haired man for another several moments with her head tilted a bit, as if she tried to recall something.

“You are a Hatake, right? I haven’t seen you before and I personally know all members of Hatake clan. Are you living outside Hatake clan grounds?”

Naruto heard a sharp intake of breath coming from his sensei and he subtly pressed close to offer comfort to the silver-haired man who glared at the blood-red haired shinobi. “How is that even possible?” The silver-haired jōnin growled.

“Well, that’s because I’ve always stay with Hatake clan during my visits to Konoha. Staying with the Senju clan is always about propriety and manners – they always seem to imply I don’t have any manner every time I visit Grandaunt Mito and cousin Tsunade, not to mention the incredibly ridiculous ceremonies just to allow me to stay for a week. So, by all means, staying with the Hatake clan was far more preferable because they don’t really care with ceremonies and such things like the Senju clan and if I have to choose, I’d always choose Hatake over Senju.” The young woman shrugged.

“WHO.ARE.YOU?”

Naruto and his teammates flinched at their sensei’s sudden release of killing intent but redhead just look at them with amusement. “It seems you guys aren’t the reinforcement I've asked for, that would explain your wariness of me. Very well, it'll be rude of me if I don’t introduce myself. My name is Uzumaki Yōou, elite jōnin of Uzushiogakure, candidate to Third Uzukage and the Head of Uzumaki clan positions and a distant relative to Hatake and Senju through marriage.”

Silence filled the clearing. Naruto can see his teammates are looking at him when the young woman, Yōou, called herself an Uzumaki. They are all must be in shock hearing that Naruto had a clan. However, he knows that’s not true. His clan perished during the aftermath of the Second Shinobi World War and he refused to acknowledge a fact that another Uzumaki exists yet didn’t come to be a family with him.

Unaware of the inner turmoil she caused, the redhead look around with curiosity. “Anyway, what are you guys doing here? Wave Country is still a red zone as we haven’t managed to secure it from Hanzo's men. Their poison is too annoying and we have to separate to hide our trail.”

Naruto wanted to tell her that the war ended decades ago but his mouth won’t open, a lump formed on his throat, stopping him from saying anything. The suddenness of the situation, however, was not enough for the silver-haired jōnin to believe the proclaimed Uzumaki.

And by the look of it, Kakashi-sensei didn’t believe every single thing she said.

* * *

Yōou watched the team with curious eyes, although her attentions are focused on the Hatake and the blonde whose scent seems familiar to her. As she waits for them to answer her questions, Yōou shifts her focus on somewhere else which is the clearing they are all at. Now that she took in her surroundings, she quickly noticed a few things, alarming things.

First, is the state of the clearing. _Was it really full of life? I'm quite sure this place was almost barren and the trees wasn’t that old before._ Second, the chakra field surrounding the clearing. _Isn’t this my chakra?! How did this even happened?!_ And last but not least, she can’t sense the chakra of her current teammates. _Where are they? We might have separated but if they are still in Wave, I would have sensed them easily. More importantly, where is Akiko?!_

Yōou was too absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the glare from the Konoha jōnin and how pale the blonde boy is. She didn’t even see the kunai on the silver-haired man's hand and something would have turned messy if not for someone’s voice came from the boulder.

“Yōou, is it the reinforcement from Konoha?”

Five heads turns toward the boulder and sees a half naked young man with silvery-white hair and icy blue eyes emerged from the boulder. He was injured, evident from the bandages on his torso. Team Seven was too focused on Yōou that they didn’t realise the ivy was covering some kind of entrance on the boulder.

“Ranmaru, should you be walking around? I may have neutralise the poison but it impended on your healing ability.”

The young man, Ranmaru, smiled at Yōou and suddenly leaned on her with his hand across her shoulder. Team Seven noted that Yōou was not surprised by the sudden breach of personal space and she even steadied Ranmaru with her hand on his waist.

“I'm fine, anyway, we should get serious, Yōou. Our teammates are still scattered around the country and there is no immediate presence of Akiko around us.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned heavy all of the sudden and in front of the Team Seven stood two war hardened shinobi –Ranmaru wore the same standard shinobi pants as Yōou– who are discussing a strategy to corner their enemy and sent them back to Amegakure. They both looks so serious talking about their strategy in front of the Team Seven and Kakashi still don’t believe them but he can’t help but flinch at a name he recognised. _If the redhead was saying the truth..._

“Second Shinobi World War ended almost three decades ago.”

The words left Kakashi’s mouth before he can even stop it but he managed to get everyone’s attention. Especially the two who are talking about how they will contact their teammates without drawing suspicion to themselves. And to Team Seven's shock, none of the two reacted strongly, in fact, they both are looking at Kakashi with a weird look.

“Are you sure you don’t meant the First Shinobi World War?” Yōou's look was too similar to another red haired woman Kakashi once know and it’s like a shock to him. A few minutes ago, Kakashi didn’t see the resemblance, but now? It’s as clear as day. He can even see the slight resemblance between the redhead and Naruto, especially when they furrowed their brows. He still don’t want to believe it but the resemblance is hard to ignore and even Naruto sees it, from the way he gasped in surprise.

Before Kakashi can even answer, Yōou saw something that made her focus solely on Naruto. “Where did you get that?” She points at the sealing paper the blond have on his right hand and Naruto shows it to Yōou, not even bothering to hide the paper. “It’s on the boulder. I ripped it off a moment before you came out.”

Yōou took the paper and studies it, the longer she stared at it, the more she frowned. “It’s a complex seal,” Naruto added, somehow nervous with how silent the redhead is.

“Yes, it is,” Yōou nodded before pocketing the paper into her weapon pouch. “I made it myself, under the request from an elder in Konoha, an hour before the team's departure. Due to the suddenness of the request and the complexity of the seal, I only managed to create it on one piece of paper. And I gave it to a Konoha kunoichi who came with us.”

Yōou looks troubled as she share a look with Ranmaru who also have the same troubled look. They both stare at each other for a few moments before Yōou sighs and regards Kakashi with a serious look. “If what you said is true, that the Second Shinobi World War ended for almost three decades, then, my little sister in Konoha should be around her late thirties and a vessel. What was the result of the war?”

“You didn’t even believe me just a few minutes ago and now you believe me?” Kakashi glared at the redhead who return the glare, albeit tinted with weariness.

“I have no choice but to believe because this,” She pulls out the paper and shove it to Kakashi’s face while growling at him, “is a time and space seal matrix combined with chakra draining matrix. I was asked by Elder Shimura Danzo to create a seal that will drain Hanzo's chakra while keeping him in a static state or frozen state and this is the result. A seal that is capable to drain one's chakra while confining he/she in a static state that when the seal is removed, he/she will not aged, theoretically. If someone with normal amount of chakra or non-Uzumaki member is sealed using this seal, it'll be almost guaranteed that they will die of chakra drain. And the one who can remove the seal is the one who set the seal.”

“You’re contradicting yourself. Naruto is only twelve years old and he was the one who remove the seal. He can't be the one who set it up.” Kakashi growled, _Uzumaki or no, if she even dare to imply Naruto is the culprit..._

“Listen until the end, Hatake brat! I have a suspicion at Danzo when he requested this seal to be created by me but I dismissed it because I thought that there is no way Konoha would try to harm their oldest ally who are willing to fight for them as a temporary Konoha shinobi. But that suspicion was enough for me to insert a precaution matrix into the seal. You see, I made this seal using my blood, to ensure the success rate but if it was used on me, the precaution matrix will activate and it doesn’t have to be the culprit to remove the seal. A blood family will do. And I don’t meant any member of Uzumaki clan can remove the seal. It have to be a member from the same bloodline as I am. My father, my mother, my older twin brother, my little sister. Anyone from my immediate family line.” Shifting from Kakashi’s charcoal grey eye, Yōou’s blood-red eyes stare into Naruto’s sky blue eyes. “Even a nephew of mine will be more than capable to remove the seal.”

Once again, silence filled the clearing, this time everyone is staring at Naruto and Yōou who are staring at each other’s eyes. Not even Sasuke and Sakura dared to broke the silence as one felt jealousy of a thought that Naruto might gained a family while another is unsure how to react.

Blood-red eyes keep staring into the glassy sky blue eyes until the younger one out of two broke the stare by looking at a random flower that suddenly become very interesting to him. “Didn't your mother told you anything about me?” Naruto flinched as Yōou’s voice was so close and when he dared to take a glance at her, he quickly averted it away as said young woman is kneeling in front of him, as if trying to see his face while still waiting for him to answer her question.

“...”

The lump on his throat stopping him from saying a word when he opened his mouth but Naruto didn’t give up, he tried harder to push the words out and when he did, it was a mere soft whisper but to Yōou, it might as well a shout of bitter truth. “I’m an orphan, from birth, ttebayo.”

Naruto sensed her stiffened and close his eyes tight to keep the tears away. He wanted a family for so long and right now, in front of him, someone who might be truly his blood family exists. He wants so badly to hug her but he also didn’t want to hope for it because if she rejected him, it'll be hard for him to recover.

“W-what about the clan? No one came for you?”

“Uzushiogakure was invaded a year after the war ended by the combined forces of Iwa, Kumo and several other nations. People of Uzushiogakure was scattered around the world and Uzumaki clan was legally declared extinct by the shinobi world on the aftermath of the invasion.”

Yōou have presented him the opportunity and Kakashi made a good use of it. He didn’t count on the second wave of chakra and thick bloodlust suddenly coming out of the redhead.

“You haven’t answered my question, Hatake. What was the result of the war?”

Yōou’s calmness confused Kakashi greatly. The other redhead Uzumaki he knows would have stormed out and made her brand of chaos known to the world but this silent rage Yōou displayed is scaring him more than the outright destruction.

“The victims of the war will says Konoha was the one who started the war as we suffered the less amount of casualties. But Konoha also suffered great losses from the war. The fall of the village’s precious allies and Tsunade-sama's conviction to never return to Konoha. If what you said is true, why did a shinobi of Uzushio joined the war as temporary Konoha shinobi?”

If anything, Yōou’s bloodlust thickening even more than before and with a burst of chakra, six shadow clones came to life. “Four of you, go and check out Uzu no Kuni. Ignore everything that is irrelevant and took everything from our rooms, sealed archives and sealed treasury. Leave nothing behind and seal the palace when you are done. The rest of you, go and look for those two. If both Ranmaru and I was presumed dead before the war ended and my older brother also died during the invasion then they would not stay with the clan to prevent it from latching itself to Kushina and driving her crazy. Tell them that it’s okay and that both of us will be going to Konoha because where else would we go? Now, go.”

With a collective “Yes, boss,” the clones scattered, taking two different routes, leaving the stunned and frightened Konoha genins with their sensei shocked at the display of no hand signs used for the jutsu. Yōou, who is still kneeling in front of Naruto, took a deep breath and lift up her face, staring once again at Naruto who look at her, speechless.

Naruto almost questioned her about how can she be so sure of him being her nephew when she cupped his cheeks with both of her hands. “Your eye shape reminds me a lot of my little sister who took after my mother most amongst us three siblings and your verbal tick just confirms it that you are indeed her son.”

Yōou caressed Naruto’s cheeks softly, wiping away tears that escaped from his eyes. “You won’t have to be alone, both Ranmaru and I will be with you. If anyone in Konoha disagree with us being together as a family or even try to hurt you by separating us, I will personally destroy their lives.”

Giving into his urge, Naruto hugged Yōou and buried his face on her shoulder, silently sobbing his heart out. A cold hand patted him on the hand and he knows it must be the silvery-white haired young man’s hand who joined in their hugs. Both of them whispers soothing words to Naruto that he felt drowsy and as he slowly falling asleep, he sees a glimpse of his soulscape where the foxes, now one has snow white fur while the other still has blood-red fur, snuggled up with him. _Such a lovely scene_ , Naruto thought before he falls asleep within the embrace of his family.

* * *

Kakashi watches the silvery-white haired young man holds a sleeping Naruto in his arms while the other Uzumaki went to retrieve their belongings from inside the boulder whom Yōou noted supposed to be a cave but according to the man, Ranmaru, Dōton was not even an element she often use and yet she still mould her chakra to create the thing as a shelter before they were sealed by their companion who is named Akiko.

None of them provided a surname but it still nagged on Kakashi’s mind. He knows a kunoichi with that name but she died when he was just a small child.

He keeps his eye on the two Uzumaki when they walked back to Tazuna’s house and despite his surprise that Tazuna actually knows them both, Kakashi still wary of what would happen when they get back to Konoha. Yōou had made a proclaim that, no doubt, will not please the elders and he afraid it will jeopardise Naruto's position in the team.

“Is that all, Kakashi?”

Kakashi had summoned his trusted ninken to tell the Hokage about their current situation as their village leader is the only one Kakashi knows that will not do anything to take away Naruto’s family from him. “Yes, Pakkun, that is all and make sure no one is around when you tell Hokage-sama about it.”

“And you actually believed them?” The pug asked.

“...I have checked their chakra reserves using sharingan and theirs are even bigger than Naruto’s. It's highly possible that they are Uzumaki and Naruto’s blood family. The kunoichi one even know one of Konoha shinobi’s secret phrase.” Kakashi had subtly asked those two when they were walking, and their answers of “Oh, just fellow green leaves, dancing in the wind,” made Kakashi decided to trust them, if only for Naruto’s sake.

“If you say so, Kakashi.” The pug said before jumping down from the roof and make his way to Konoha. Kakashi yawned as he watches his ninken until the pug is out of his sight, “So you’re a dog summoner, was that one your familiar?”

Surprised, Kakashi whirled around to face Yōou who is beside him, sitting on the rooftop with her eyes eyeing their surroundings. “Since when you’re here?” He was sure the redhead was tending her fellow Uzumaki inside the house and he didn’t hear nor sensed her coming up to the rooftop.

“Just now; Ranmaru and the genin are all asleep. What about you? Your scent told me that you are low on chakra, shouldn’t you be resting with the others?”

“You are the one confined inside a boulder that has a chakra draining seal, shouldn’t you be the one to rest?”

The redhead young woman snorted before smirk at him, “It’s true that I am also low on chakra. One of the reasons why I'm not resting are first; because I just released one of chakra suppression seals that holds a quarter of my total chakra reserves. You see, I was born with enormous amount of chakra. It was too much for a new-born baby to handle that much of chakra and several chakra suppression seals were immediately applied to control it and I was left with about 2.5% of my total chakra reserves. And as the time passed by, I have to store excessive chakra into chakra storage seals and those were the ones that the seal drained. And the second reason is because I haven’t answered your question back in the clearing, about why did a shinobi of Uzushio joined the war by becoming a Konoha shinobi temporary. Well, to put it simple, Uzumaki clan predicted that the perpetrator of the war wanted to destroy Konoha and we didn’t want that to happen so we gathered several teams to helped Konoha. Out of five teams, only one team were dressed as Konoha shinobi while the other teams are a joint of Uzushio and Konoha shinobi.

My team was consisted of Ranmaru, Akiko, a Hyuuga and yours truly; we were one of the joint teams. Both Ranmaru and I are a duo and we are always together because our powers compliment each other. Akiko and the Hyuuga were chosen by the elders because our main objectives were to support the Sannin and helped the affected small countries. Akiko was meant to deliver the seal to them in hopes of sealing Hanzo and yet the seal was used on us when we fall back to cure Ranmaru after Hanzo's men ambushed us and poisoned him. The only one I can think of trying to get rid of me is elder Shimura Danzo as he knows I will be the biggest obstacle for him to become a Hokage.”

Kakashi eyed the redhead who now laying on the roof and supports a serious look, “How so? You don’t look that menacing to me,” he noted, eyeing Yōou’s tall yet lean figure, clearly a figure of a shinobi born for speed. From her looks, he estimated that she was in her early twenties but looks can deceive. It was only then he backtrack to what she said. “And what do you mean by my scent told you about my chakra levels?”

“I have a sensitive nose. Sensitive enough to detect the scent of chakra and jutsus. As for why Danzo would even find me as dangerous is because I'm a candidate to Uzukage position. Uzukage has a different role other than any other Kages. Tobirama-sama was the one who proposed this idea to my grandfather when he was the First Uzukage that every candidate of Hokage will have to earn the approval of Uzukage. You must thought that this is a ridiculous idea, right? But it was necessary because Uzukage are biologically inherited title and my grandfather was the older brother of Hashirama-sama's wife who asked him to protect Konoha from the outside as well as from the inside.

Tobirama-sama and my grandfather sign a blood treaty that as long as the main family of Uzumaki clan existed, we will protect Konoha from destroying itself from the inside as Uzukage, as the one who care for another village as our own precious family. According to my father, who were present at the signing of the treaty as the next Uzukage, Danzo was not pleased with the treaty and has been vocally protesting against it to the Second Hokage even within the presence of the Uzukage. My father also knows Danzo wanted to be a Hokage but in his eyes Danzo is not fit to be a Hokage. He would make the worse Hokage for Konoha and I also agree with my father. Someone who disregard emotion as if it is not necessary for a shinobi is not fit to be a Hokage. Someone who proposed an experiment to be done to children is not fit to be the Hokage.”

Kakashi did not know such system of electing the Hokage exists but now that he gained the information, he now know why the Third Hokage stay in power for so long. And it seems Yōou know Danzo's organisation.

“You know what Danzo did?”

“Of course I do. He reek of corruption and the stench of broken children always came off of him every time I saw him and the worse thing is that he has his minions within the ANBU. He even dare to ask Hiruzen-sama for Kushina to be put under his watch in front of me and Ranmaru when we went to visit her before we went to this mission.” The redhead growled in anger and once again, Kakashi felt that thick bloodlust before it disappears.

 _This conversation turned toward a dangerous path_ , Kakashi thought while the young woman calms down with a huff. “Did Kushina died during childbirth?”

This particular topic made Kakashi visibly flinched as he stare at Yōou who look at the starry sky with unreadable blood-red eyes. “...” _I can’t answer this question_ , he thought. Too sensitive for a topic especially since he was not allowed to be the one who told Naruto about it.

“I’ll take your silence as a partial yes.”

“What makes you think so?” Kakashi had to ask, did she know the reason why her little sister was brought to Konoha? She had to know it.

“Naruto gave off the scent of tailed beast’s chakra. I've only ever smelled it whenever I visit Grandaunt Mito. The fact that Naruto has it and his whiskered cheeks told me that he was born from a jinchūriki mother which was my little sister, Kushina. I bet the father was that blonde boy who also dreamed to be a Hokage just like Kushina did.”

Kakashi choked on his own spit when Yōou offhandedly mentioned about his sensei.

“...You know him?”

“Not really. Just managed to talk to him for a few moments after their class but I know he is a kind one. And it wasn’t hard at all for me to realise that those two are soulmates.”

 _WHAT_. Kakashi watches the redhead with trepidation, _She can even figure that out?!_

Yōou must have glanced at him because she continued on, “Kushina was a nervous wreck when we brought her to Konoha because unlike us, she will be living at Konoha for the rest of her life, accompanied by an elderly couple who wish to stay at Konoha for the rest of their lives. I assume they died too before Naruto was born.”

Actually, Kakashi didn’t even know there were a couple of Uzumaki who lived with Kushina before he knows her. _Must have been killed by the Kumo nin who kidnapped her_ , he thought while listening quietly to Yōou's story.

“She was so nervous that we have to accompany her to the academy and I saw her visibly calms down just before she was introduced to the class. When the day ended, she did nothing but chatter about a blonde boy who also claimed he'll be the Hokage, just like she did as part of her introduction. You have no idea how many letters she sent back home that contains a lot about that boy. The whole clan was convinced that the boy was her soulmate. Actually, the day I last saw Kushina, he was there, too. He said he wanted to talk with me but I think he just want to have an excuse to be with my little sister.”

Kakashi honestly cannot imagine his sensei with the boy the young woman beside him talked about is the same person. He is well aware that time can change someone but hearing the beginning of his sensei's and Kushina-san’s history from someone who seen the bond forming between the two is surreal. _Somehow, it sounds like she is beyond amused with the situation_ , Kakashi thought as he sipped from his flask of water.

“Oh, he also asked for my blessings,” The redhead added, cackling loudly when Kakashi choked on his water. “Don’t worry, he didn’t ask it outright. It was a layered question but his intention was clear.” Yōou explained further as she noticed the glare turned sharper than before, still chuckling to herself.

The two of them soon fall into a lull, Kakashi didn’t know what to say and the redhead seems to be in a trance.“It’s surreal for me,” She confessed in a low voice, “It was just four days ago since I last saw my little sister and a week since the last time I saw my older twin brother and now they are gone.”

Kakashi watches as the redhead closed her eyes and let out a shaky sigh, his charcoal grey eye widens when he saw her eyes changes for a moment, like a beast’s eyes.“Aren’t you going to mourn for them?”

“Oh, I will, but not right now. You see, my twin brother would kick my arse if I mourn for him in the middle of a mission. He was that kind of man, he won’t let me focus on him until the mission is done.”

The atmosphere turned sombre as Yōou reminiscing about her family. Kakashi let the young woman to have her time until said young woman suddenly ask him something he didn’t expect in such situation.

“I saw several trees destroyed on our way here; did Naruto begin his tree walking training?”

“...Yes, I think it’s best to teach them a basic yet important training of chakra control. Why do you ask?”

“You do realise all the destroyed trees are the result of Naruto putting too much chakra at one point, yes? In that case, I can help train Naruto. It takes an Uzumaki to know how to train another Uzumaki, after all.” Yōou stood up and begin to make her way down, “Also, it’s better if you catch some sleep. This kekkai here is very well made, it will repel anyone with bad intention which mean no one will be able to enter this kekkai without being repelled.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“To be a master of sealing in Uzumaki clan, one would have to master kekkai-jutsu as well. And this kekkai is my own creation.”

Before Kakashi can even ask for more, the redhead already enters the house from an open window, leaving the silver-haired man alone in the rooftop. Her own creation? Does that mean...the scrolls were written by her?

~~~

True to her words, Yōou managed to make Naruto understand how to control and direct his chakra in one spot and keep it there quite easily. It didn’t took long for Naruto to walk his way up to the top of the tree.

“Yes! I did it, ttebayo!” Naruto exclaimed in happiness from his perch on the tallest tree branch he had walked.

“Yes, you did it, but you are far from mastering it. I’ll leave the rest to your sensei because I’m going to ask Tazuna-san more about this Gato. I'll see you all later,” The redhead waved at them before making her way toward where the bridge construction is.

The team watches her walking away, a little bit shocked at how carefree the redhead is. They keep staring at her back until it was out of sight and their eyes found the other older Uzumaki who made his way towards them from another direction. “What are you lot looking at?”

The man followed their line of sight but didn’t see anything notable to caught their eyes. He scanned their surroundings and noted that the redhead is not with them. “Did Yōou leave? She was here, wasn’t she?”

No one answered his question and he decided he can get it from his partner later, for now, he will help train the puppies. “Naruto, have you managed to walk up the tree?”

“I did! So, what’s next? Can I start learning cool jutsus?” Naruto vibrated with excitement from his perch on the tree branch which made Ranmaru chuckled at him, “No, not yet. You have to master this chakra control practice to the point you won’t be needing handseal to direct chakra to the bottom of your feet. It’s the same chakra control principles for sealing but not as complex.”

They all watches Naruto as his eyes went blank for a moment before it brightens, signalling he understood what Ranmaru told him. “You mean, this is the same as applying exact amount of chakra to a seal but instead of channelling it into a seal, I should channel it to the bottom of my feet and keep it there?”

Kakashi and the other two genins were shocked hearing what Naruto says. The silver haired man was shocked because he didn’t know it would be that easy to make Naruto understand while the genins were shocked because not only Ranmaru explain the point of the practice with sealing principles, Naruto was able to understand what the silvery-white haired young man is saying. Said young man nodded before eyeing the branch Naruto perched on.

“You should try it on designated time. Let’s see, how about the time you would have to wait for your favourite food on your favourite food stall.”

This time, the team snapped their head at Ranmaru when he used food as a way to encourage the blond while Naruto just grins and droll at the thought of his favourite food. “Yosh, I’ll do it, ttebayo!”

* * *

Yōou didn’t come back until late even when Tazuna came back from the bridge construction site. It was also hard for everyone to guess what she had been doing from her expression alone but Ranmaru seems understand what she had been doing. “It took you quite a lot of time, Yōou. So, was it a good hunt?”

The redhead only shrugged at the question and flopped down to her sleeping bag. “Not as satisfying as I thought it would be. Somehow, the quality of ninja decreased as time goes by.” She grumbled before smirking at Ranmaru, “It didn’t take so much effort for my clones to get information from the hidden villages.”

“You were gathering information?”

Yōou rolled her eyes at Kakashi, as if he had ask a stupid question. “Yes, I was. Information is also a weapon for us shinobi. Charging up ahead without information is a fatal mistake that could get us killed. And I also managed to infiltrate this Gato’s place. It’s ridiculously easy to get inside there as the guards are merely thugs.”

“Sounds like an easy target to assassinate.” Ranmaru remarked before turning to Team Seven, “What do you guys think?”

The two older Uzumaki noticed that the genins are pale while their sensei is thinking about it. “What about the missing nin from Kiri he had recruited to kill Tazuna?”

“Hmm, they should pose no problem since I have something that should interest them. Connect the bridges instead of burning it. So, either me or you,” She points at Kakashi who blinked, surprised Yōou take the position of leader, before she blinks as she realised what she had done. “Oops. Sorry about that, I accidentally assumed the position as a leader while it was not my intention.”

Yōou smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. For a moment, Kakashi is once again reminded of the resemblance between Yōou and the other redhead he once know. Once again, he is faced by the reminder that if she and Ranmaru wasn’t sealed, Naruto might not going to have any family left.

The silvery-white haired young man chuckled before joining Yōou and nuzzled her shoulder, surprising the team with their proximity and intimacy. Naruto, in particular, looks so surprised and interested with such intimacy. “Are you both...soulmates?”

Icy blue eyes closed in content as Yōou nuzzled back, happiness shone through her blood-red eyes as if the gesture made her happy. Blood-red eyes gaze upon Naruto’s sky blue eyes and she nodded, “Yes, we are. Ranmaru was only a year older than me and we have been together for almost of our lives. Our parents were too, what was it?” Unable to think the appropriate word, Yōou turned to Ranmaru who keep his eyes closed.

“Enthusiastic, excited, over the moon,” Ranmaru prompted without even opening his eyes, “Yes, over the moon. We are actually cousins, his father and mine are brothers and apparently, they promised each other that their first born would marry. I was my father’s first born daughter and Ranmaru was the first born as well. When it was clear that we both are soulmates...”

“Even your mother was ecstatic about it and she was one of those scary and expressionless people.” Ranmaru muttered, his hands find their way to Yōou’s waist.

Yōou nodded, gesturing for Naruto to join her and Ranmaru with her free hand. When Naruto is close enough for her to reach him without moving, she dragged him to her laps, affection spilling from her being as she nuzzled Naruto’s hair. “Everyone would have loved you, Naruto.” Her voice was low as she muttered into Naruto’s soft blond locks, her words are only for Naruto’s ears.

Naruto felt himself tears at the display of affection from the redhead. He hugged her as she patted his back. As he melts into her embrace, he wondered how it feels to be encased in his sensei’s arms. But there still something inside his mind that he needs to know. And he thanks whatever deity up there for the silver haired jōnin because he takes his teammates outside so the Uzumaki can have their moment.

“Nee-chan,” He begins, unconsciously referring Yōou as older sister despite knowing she is, probably, his aunt. “I have been seeing this anomaly in my soulscape. From time to time, I’d see two foxes drenched in fresh blood instead of my soulmate’s soul. The last time I see them is yesterday and one of them now has snow-white fur while the other still has blood-red fur. Do you know what that means?”

At first, the two older Uzumaki are all silent before Naruto felt another hand embraced him. Yōou sighs before holding Naruto tighter, “Of course our souls would sometimes appear inside your soulscape. Not only our body constitution is unique, our soulscapes are unique as well. You have a lonely childhood and instinctively, your soul will either seek out your soulmate or seek out the souls of immediate family; in your case, your soul seeks both. I’m your mother’s older sister, so, my soul is the closest blood relation and because Ranmaru is my mate, he was able to enter your soulscape as well. Now that you’ve found us, our souls won’t be inside your soulscape unless one of us is in a mission. You got any question left, Naruto?”

Naruto thought about it; he wanted to ask about courting Kakashi but...why does he have the feeling his teammates are snooping on them?

~~~

Ranmaru relaxes as Naruto shook his head, the genin now just enjoying the embrace. He was not a sensor but the two genin outside the room is not being subtle at all. Their chakra signatures, despite them trying their best to hide it, still felt like a blaring signal even for him. But since the sensors inside the room – from the way Naruto was able to pinpoint their location even being sealed, he was certain the blond Uzumaki is a sensor, too – are ignoring the eavesdropping puppies, he decided not to say anything, for now.

He actually agrees with his mate about the quality of ninja decreasing as time passed by. He was partially disappointed and partially surprised when he had observed the team. He was astonished that the pink-haired kunoichi was too focused on the Uchiha boy who doesn’t care about anything but getting strong to avenge his family by killing a certain man. The two hardly cares for teamwork which made Ranmaru wonder how they passed the test from their jōnin sensei.

Naruto was the only one amongst the three who cares for teamwork and while Ranmaru commends the blond for insisting that teamwork is important, he can’t help but cringe about Naruto’s chosen attire. Don’t get him wrong, the attire itself was not a problem. The problem lies with the bright colour that screams ‘I am here! Come and get me!’ and he has enough relatives that has nonexistent self-preservation. Yōou and her older twin brother, when he was alive, were bad enough and he fears Naruto actually inherited this particular trait that aforementioned twins get from their grandfather.

 _There is something about Naruto that his teammates seem unaware of_ , Ranmaru mused as Yōou suddenly slumped over Naruto who was too surprised to even react. If not for his grip on her waist, the two would have toppled backwards to the floor.

“Wh-wha? What just happened?” Naruto look at Ranmaru with confused eyes, unable to comprehend what just happened.

 _Such a precious child_ , Ranmaru ruffled Naruto’s hair before he asked Naruto to get off the sleeping redhead so he can place her inside her sleeping bag. Once he tucked his mate to her sleeping bag, Ranmaru gestured Naruto to sit by him so they can bond.

“I know you have something you want to ask, but if it's regarding your soulmate,” Ranmaru lower his voice so only Naruto can hear his words, “Let’s wait until we are at Konoha and within better privacy than here. Your teammates are eavesdropping on us.”

Naruto’s eyes widened, his blue eyes glanced at the sleeping redhead and then he glanced at the door. “Then, why did she...” He trailed off, didn’t know what to say and look up at Ranmaru for answer.

“Us Uzumaki has a principle of sharing information. We share what we want to share. Yōou thought that it was information worthy to be shared.” The two bonding with each other and after a few minutes, the others enter the room and they are all went to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a place far, far, far away...

* * *

Two of Yōou’s clones arrived outside of a cave; they have been running nonstop tracking the people they are looking for. Both look at each other before entering the cave. They walk deeper into the cave cautiously until they saw someone they know.

“Yōou? Is that you?”

The clones nodded and launch their story. The person before them furrowed their brows and growls lightly when the clones finished. The person look at them for a moment before telling them that they understood the situation and that they will not stay where they are any longer than necessary. They told the clones to dismiss themselves and move deeper into the darkest place of the cave once the clones disappear.

“Ranmaru and Yōou survived.” They speak to the darkness, as if knowing there is someone there and a voice answered them.

“...They...survived? How?”

“Apparently, they were sealed into a boulder Yōou tried to create as a cave using Dōton by her own time and space seal that froze someone’s time and drain their chakra.” They explained, nothing was apparent from their tone but the person they are speaking with somehow able to pick up something

“You are proud of her,” The other one stated, “Since they are alive, there is no need for us to stay here. Since you mentioned her name, it begins to thrash around.”

Besides the two, something is moving inside the darkness, waiting impatiently to get free and return to its master’s side. “Are we going to return?”

“...Kushina has a son, one that we are unable to look after just like how we were unable to look after her. Now that Yōou is alive, it will not latches itself into another and drive them crazy.”

“In other words, we will no longer stay in this cave anymore, yes?”

“You were not obliged to accompany me and you know it.”

“Our vow includes ‘in happiness and in sadness’. I will not leave you because of this, besides, who will protect the entrance if I weren’t here?”

The voice inside the darkness chuckled; they have a point, after all. “Very well, then, let us return to the children’s side.”

Not a moment later, something flew past the two who no longer surrounded by thick darkness. “Shall we, my dear?”

“Of course, Konoha would never predict what will hit them and this time, I look forward for the chaos.”

* * *

In Wave Country, Tazuna’s house

* * *

Yōou’s blood-red eyes opened and she look at the form of slumbering people around her. _Everyone is sleeping_ , she thought as she soundlessly leaves the room through the window and stood in the rooftop. She stares into the distance and as her eyes caught something moving from afar, she leapt down and leaves the house silently, moving toward the clearing. Once she’s there, something already awaits her.

The clearing, due to being saturated with her chakra for so long, give off ethereal dim light under the moonlight and it helped her see things around her. The presence of moonlight made everything visible and on top of the boulder, a shroud of darkness seems to sit there. Upon seeing Yōou, the darkness seems to be vibrating.

“Long time no see,” A smile appears on Yōou’s face, which made the darkness move the ground and approach her.

“There is no need to possess another and there is no need to avenge us. I am here and once again, I will be your master. Come,” Yōou outstretches her hand to the darkness and it wrapped itself to her hand and in no time, it enters her body.

“Welcome back, chaos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. I have acute writer block case and my muse left me in the middle of writing this chapter.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. Stay safe and stay healthy.


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